Ryan Conarro – KNOM Radio Missionhttp://www.knom.org/wp
780 AM | 96.1 FM | Yours for Western AlaskaMon, 19 Mar 2018 20:46:08 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.459285469Perspectives on “Alaxsxa”http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2017/12/04/perspectives-on-alaxsxa/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2017/12/04/perspectives-on-alaxsxa/#respondMon, 04 Dec 2017 21:52:31 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=32383A multi-media theatrical production that recently toured Alaska and off-Broadway in New York City brought Alaska Native culture, and cross-cultural encounters in the state from a variety of perspectives, to a broader audience. This collaborative, story-rich, conversation-sparking production was the focus of a recent episode of KNOM’s “Story49.”]]>

“My Eskimo dancing, that’s what I really wanted to bring out to the world. To see what’s going on in our Yu’pik culture.”

That’s what prompted Gary Upay’aq Beaver of Kasigluk to collaborate on a multi-media theatrical production that recently toured Alaska and off-Broadway in New York City.

The production is the collaboration of Beaver, artist and playwright Ryan Conarro, and puppeteer Justin Perkins. Says Beaver, “Some pieces were really hard… I had to make myself stronger. I keep praying. Us Yup’iks, we have faith, hope and love, which I didn’t really have. But now, with what I saw, my faith, my hope, my love, it’s a little more stronger, and it’s still going up.”

The aim of the show is to inspire reflection and conversation about people and how we interact with each other. The storytelling contrasts the different viewpoints using a blend of humorous and even tragic memories of cross-cultural encounters.

When the production premiered in Nome, Director of the Katirvik Cultural Center, Lisa Ellanna, facilitated talking circles after the show. She said the discussions about history were uncomfortable and filled with emotion. The show was “presented with so much art, beauty, song, understanding, and care. It nurtured the audience along the way… Alaska Native people know the weight of the story and how important it is to our cultures… you have to tell a story exactly how it was told to you, and then, you’re free to interpret” to find the meaning and relevance to the recipient’s current situation.

Says Beaver of his part in the production, “I just hope that I help somebody out there. I know I helped, not one, not two, but a lot more. They’ve already come up to me and told me after the show.”

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2017/12/04/perspectives-on-alaxsxa/feed/032383Story49: “What Happens When Two People Meet Each Other”http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2017/10/17/story49-what-happens-when-two-people-meet-each-other/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2017/10/17/story49-what-happens-when-two-people-meet-each-other/#commentsTue, 17 Oct 2017 23:29:09 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=31580Go behind the scenes with the creators of “Alaxsxa | Alaska,” an ambitious new production that combines storytelling, dance, and puppetry to explore the 49th state's complicated history of cross-cultural encounters.]]>http://knom.org/wp-audio/2017/08/2017-10-15-Story49-What%20Happens%20When%20Two%20People%20Meet%20Each%20Other.mp3

“Alaxsxa | Alaska” is an ambitious new production that combines storytelling, dance, and puppetry to explore the complicated history of cross-cultural encounters in the 49th state, but its creators say what it comes down to is “what happens when two people meet each other.”

This month on Story49, we go behind the scenes with Gary Beaver and Ryan Conarro, two of the show’s collaborators and performers, who crafted stories from their respective experiences as a Yup’ik drummer and dancer who grew up in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, and a white man who moved to Alaska as an adult.

Gary Beaver performs a Yup’ik dance at the Nome Elementary School before the Nome premiere of “Alaxsxa | Alaska.” Photo: Zoe Grueskin/KNOM.

Listen here or tune in on KNOM (780 AM, 96.1 FM) on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 6 pm and again on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 3 pm.

If you or someone you know has a story to share, contact KNOM at 443-5221 or by email at story49@knom.org.

Story49: Sharing your story, your voice, your Alaska.

Image at top: Collaborators Ryan Conarro, Gary Beaver, and Justin Perkins before the Nome premiere of “Alaxsxa | Alaska.” Photo: Zoe Grueskin, KNOM. You can explore more of the stories Ryan collected around the state about cross-cultural encounters here.

Volunteer Ryan Conarro produces a series of KNOM Profiles on the impact of modern technology in bush Alaska.

One of the persons Ryan speaks with is Barb Pungowiyi, coordinator of Native programs for Nome Public Schools. “Some people might say technology is one of the reasons why our culture is being lost,” Pungowiyi tells Ryan, “but I think it can be used to an advantage.”